Also known as: coconspirators · co-conspirator · co-conspirators
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A person who participates with one or more others in forming and advancing a criminal conspiracy. The label applies once the agreement and shared criminal purpose are shown by a preponderance of the evidence.
Cynthia Cortez and Charlotte Chung agreed to misrepresent pesticide use on their farms. While disposing of banned barrels, Chung texted a coworker about the plan to avoid detection. The court admitted the text against Cortez because it was made by her coconspirator during and in furtherance of the ongoing concealment.
Cameron Cruz and Cecilia Cabrera discussed falsifying billing records on recorded calls. The prosecution introduced the tapes after showing independent evidence of their agreement. The court treated the statements as admissible against both because each was a coconspirator whose declarations advanced the scheme.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Christine Castro and Carmen Choi were indicted after agents intercepted calls between them and a third participant. Castro moved to suppress the recordings. The court held that only those whose own conversations were intercepted could object, limiting standing even though all three were coconspirators.
Cameron Cruz and Cecilia Cabrera completed their scheme to divert funds. Weeks later Cruz told a friend about the plan in casual conversation. The court excluded the later statement because it was not made during and in furtherance of the conspiracy even though both remained coconspirators.
Carmen Choi agreed with Christine Castro to submit false insurance claims. Castro filed the first inflated bill. Choi later reported the scheme to regulators. The court held that her withdrawal did not erase her status as a coconspirator for purposes of the completed offense.
Cynthia Cortez and Charlotte Chung coordinated false Medicare submissions. The government offered Chung's email describing the plan. The court first found by a preponderance that a conspiracy existed and both participated, then admitted the email against Cortez as a coconspirator statement.
The court must find by a preponderance of the evidence that a conspiracy existed and that the declarant and the party against whom the statement is offered both participated in it. The coconspirator's own statement may be considered along with other evidence in making that preliminary determination.
No. The prosecution need not show that the nontestifying coconspirator is unavailable as a prerequisite to admitting the statement.
Under traditional common law principles, withdrawal after the agreement and any required overt act does not undo the completed conspiracy offense, although it may limit liability for later substantive crimes committed by others.
No. Common law conspiracy requires a genuine meeting of the minds in which both participants share the criminal purpose. Feigned agreement by one party defeats the bilateral requirement.
…District Court on June 6 and requested that court to lift its protective order regarding the naming of certain individuals as coconspirators and to any additional extent deemed appropriate by the Court. This motion of the President was based on the ground that the disclosures to the news media made the reasons for continuance of…